WIGSTON CHESS CLUB
Tactics
Here are some interesting combinations that happened or could have happened in our games.No. 11 - White to play
No. 10 - Black to play
No. 9 - White to play and mate in 2
Alan Byron reached this winning position against GM Oleg Korneev at
the recent South Wales International tournament. Can you find the
forced mate that Alan missed?
Solution
No.5 - White to play and win
No.4 - Black to play and win
In this position black played 23...Qe6 and white managed to convert
his extra pawn into a win. How could black have turned the tables?
Solution
No.3 - White to play and win
This position is from the recent county match against Suffolk. Can you
do better than me and find the winning line against International
Master Alan Merry?
Solution
No.2 - White to play and draw
This position is taken from a game played by former member
Matthew Wilson at the recent Gibraltar Masters. Matthew’s opponent,
rated 2157 lost on time trying to find an adequate defence to the
mate threat on g2. Can you do better? It is a difficult puzzle, but you
can narrow down the lines as white can only play moves that prevent
immediate mate. The main line needs you to find the first 3 moves.
Solution
No.1 - White to play and win
This is a variation that could have occurred in the game Burrows -
Barnes from the last round of the Atkins tournament. Normally a
knight and 2 pawns beat a bishop, but here the pieces are in a tangle.
How can white win this?
Solution
No.6 - White to play and win
From a recent event in Biel, Switzerland. White has sacrificed the
exchange and got a pawn and good compensation for it. Can you
find the knockout blow that both players missed?
Solution
No.7 - White to play and mate in 5
No.8 - Black to play and mate in 3
Phil Watkinson has provided a position from his game in the
recent match against Melton 2:
“Black to move and its mate in three. I had moved my rook to c3
on the previous move, thinking of attacking the b3 pawn but
suddenly saw the mate in three, so clearly and obviously correct.
It was a weird feeling of being so certain and I wish it could
happen more frequently.”
Solution
From a recent game played by Phil Watkinson in the online 4NCL.
Solution
The position arose from a recent game in division 2. White,
having done well from the opening has just played Bxe7, which
turns out to be a mistake.
a) In the game, black replied with Kxe7. What was wrong with
this?
b) Can you see how black could now turn things around and gain
a clear advantage for himself?
Solution
White has sacrificed two pawns for a dangerous attack and
needs to find a convincing breakthrough.
The solution is quite difficult, but just remember to always
consider checks, captures and threats (possibly in that order)!
Solution
